In 2025, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh fell just short of winning the American League MVP Award, even despite hitting 60 home runs, which is the record for both catchers and switch-hitters in a single season.

As a result of his second-place finish, only two Mariners ever have won the MVP: Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997 and Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. 

But, injuries have opened the door for a pair of Mariners to make a run at the award in 2026.

We spoke about this with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the latest edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast:

"Yeah, an All Star.

And I know you and I talked early in the year about all the concerns coming off the WBC and everything with Cal (Raleigh), and how he's handling that. He's (Randy Arozarena) having a terrific season to the point that, you know, when Aaron Judge went down last week, not only are there implications for the Yankees, because he looks like he's going to be out at least four-to-six weeks, probably longer.

The American League MVP race is wide open. Last year we had the two major candidates in Judge and Cal Raleigh. This year, there really aren't players who've necessarily separated themselves.

So Julio (Rodriguez) is going to be an MVP candidate this year. I think Randy's going to be an MVP candidate this year with how he's playing. Bobby Witt Jr., Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, Yordan Alvarez, who's a full time DH, that doesn't happen very often. You know, Ohtani wins the MVP because he's a pitcher and a DH.

So I'm fascinated by this. And Randy's had a great impact. The fact that he's now moved into the cleanup spot within the absence of Cal, with what else is going on in their lineup, that's interesting."

Entering play on Thursday, Arozarena is hitting .294 with seven homers, 33 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. He's posted an OPS of .835 and an OPS+ of 139.

Rodriguez, already a three-time All-Star, is hitting .251 with 13 homers, 33 RBIs, nine stolen bases and a .750 OPS. He has an OPS+ of 113.

The Mariners (36-33) will finish out a four-game set with the Orioles on Thursday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. PT. Seattle has taken two of the first three games so far.

You can listen to the full 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast with Buster Olney here, or you can watch below:

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